Non-Rotating Coupling Device

ABSTRACT

The invention is a quick connect and disconnect coupling system which limits the free rotation between the female socket and the male plug of the coupling with respect to one another. It comprises a male plug having a coupling end and a female socket having a coupling end with a receiving opening therein to receive the coupling end of the male plug when the connectors are in a coupled condition. A holding mechanism is associated with the coupling end. The male plug includes a non-circular surface that inter-engages the locking balls within the female quick connect socket to substantially prevent relative rotation of the male plug in relation to the female socket. The coupling is particularly useful for attaching accessories for fluid dispensing as used in highly pressurized spray applications to allow the ability to rotationally adjust the dispensing action.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENTS

This application is a continuation of U.S. non-provisional patentapplication Ser. No. 11/967,388 filed Dec. 31, 2007, and now abandonedherewith.

Priority is claimed to U.S. Provisional application No. 60/897,883 filedJan. 29, 2007.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is in the field of quick connect couplers.

Quick connect couplers are well known and commonly used in connectingair powered tools to highly pressurized spraying systems. Quick connectcouplers allow a user to merely push two portions of the couplertogether to connect a fluid or gas line. Numerous types of quick connectcouplers exist in the art. These couplers are usually designed to befreely rotatable around a center axis. The problem with such couplers isthat there exist applications where minimal, or no rotatable action isdesired. In some dispensers, for example, accessories exist that requirethe user to rotate the nozzle in order to adjust the spray pattern.Traditionally configured couplers do not allow the convenient use ofsuch accessories in a quick connect configuration due to the fact thatthe coupler will rotate freely, thus not providing the resistancenecessary to adjust the accessory and requiring the operator to use twohands, one to hold the work piece in position and the other to adjustthe controls. Another example would be in a sprinkler system usingrotating sprinkler heads, such as impact heads. The base of such headshas to be held against a rotation so that the sprinkler head will rotateas desired. If the coupler and the base of the sprinkler head are freeto rotate, the sprinkler may stay in substantially one position with thesprinkler head base moving back and forth. Another example would be whenconnecting hose lines in pneumatic or hydraulic applications. Thereexist instances where it is required to orient the connecter in such amanner and have it remain in the intended rotational position. Examplesinclude the use of in-line pressure gauges, venturi valves, and otherauxiliary pieces. Traditionally configured couplers do not allow theuser to orient the connector in such a manner because the hose oraccessory would freely self-adjust to its most natural position beinginfluenced by the weight of gravity or the twisting influence of a hoseline. Another example would be when it is required to open or close ashut-off valve after the coupler is engaged or before it is disengaged,as is the case with some industrial and medical hose lines. Onceconnected the coupler is rotated to open the nipple valve and allowflow.

These quick connect couplers have been known in the art for a long timeand some attempts have been tried over the years to stop the naturalrotation. These attempts are usually designed in such a way that requirechanges to both the male and female portions of the coupler, thus makingthem not compatible with the standard mating piece on the market. Thatis to say, the male portion of the recently improved components may becompatible with a standard female socket, but the features that preventrotation may not be functional. Thus, it is desirable to provide a quickconnect coupler that limits rotation and is backwards compatible withtraditional configured couplers while still maintaining its additionalfunction of rotation limitation. It is in this light that the presentinvention seeks to limit rotation through implementation of an improvedquick connection device that interacts with the common feature of atraditional mating coupler piece in order to achieve limited rotationalmovement.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention comprises a quick connect and disconnect couplingsystem which includes a respective male and female fittings havingrespective interlocking portions which prevent relative rotation therebetween in the coupled condition and a dispensing accessory. Thecoupling is particularly useful for applications wherein free rotationof the ends of the coupler is undesirable such as for connectingaccessories such as spraying devices that require rotary action toadjust the dispensing action.

The quick connect and disconnect coupling system includes a male plughaving a coupling end and an attachment end and a female socket having acoupling end with a receiving opening to receive the coupling end of themale plug. A locking mechanism is associated with and co-operablebetween the male plug and the female socket to secure the coupling endof the male plug when the coupling end of the male plug is inserted intothe receiving opening and to release the coupling end of the male plugfrom the receiving opening when desired to disconnect the male plug fromthe female socket. The male plug includes a male component and anannular groove with integrated longitudinal ridge that engages thelocking mechanism on the female socket to prevent relative rotation ofthe male plug and the female socket when the connectors are in a coupledcondition. Such interlocking or engaging surfaces may take the form ofone or more ridges extending radially from the ball receiving recess inthe coupling end of the male plug to mate with at least one retainingball located in the female socket of the locking mechanism.

The holding mechanism may include at least one ball retaining holethrough the coupling end of the female socket with a ball positioned inat least one ball retaining hole. A sleeve having a first insidediameter portion and a tapered portion extending from the first diameterportion to a larger diameter portion is slidably mounted on the couplingend of the female socket over at least one ball retaining hole so thatthe first diameter portion or tapered portion may be selectively alignedwith at least one ball retaining hole so that the first diameter portionor tapered portion may be selectively aligned with the at least one ballretaining hole. When the first diameter portion is aligned with the atleast one ball retaining hole, it holds the ball in the at least oneball retaining hole in an inward position wherein the ball extends intothe receiving opening. When the tapered portion of the larger diameterportion is aligned over the at least one ball retaining hole it allowsthe ball in the at least one ball retaining hole to move to an outwardposition of the receiving opening. A spring biases the sleeve to abiased position wherein the first diameter portion is aligned with theat least one ball retaining hole. A ball receiving recess in thecoupling end of the male plug, receives the ball in the at least oneball retaining hole when the coupling end of the male plug is receivedin the receiving opening of the female socket. The male and femalecouplers are held together by holding the ball in the at least one ballretaining hole in inward position to extend into the ball receivingrecess.

One of the primary characteristics of the improved quick connect couplersystem is that only one portion of the coupler system, namely the maleplug, has an improved design. The improvement applied to the male plugis intended to function within the existing design of the traditionalfemale socket. That is, by to say that each of both the female and malecouplers are interoperable with or without the improvement, therebyensuring backwards compatibility with the traditional or non-improveddesigns.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparentfrom a consideration of the drawings and ensuing detailed description.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Brief description for carrying out the invention is illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a male quick connect plug attached to adispensing accessory implementing an embodiment of the non-circularsurface, or ridge, located between the ball engagement surface and thebackwardly rising surface, thus bridging the two surfaces.

FIG. 1B is a side elevation view of the same male quick connect plug.

FIG. 1C is a side view of the same male quick connect plug;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a male quick connect plugattached to a dispensing accessory and a female quick connect socketassembly;

FIGS. 3A is a side view of a male quick connect plug attached to adispensing accessory and a female quick connect socket assembly.

FIG. 3B is a perspective view of the same dispensing accessory attachedto a female quick connect socket assembly;

FIGS. 4A is a partial perspective view of a male quick connect plug withan alternate embodiment of the ridge located between the ball engagementsurface and across toward the backwardly rising surface.

FIG. 4B is a side view of the same male quick connect plug with analternatively designed ridge;

FIG. 5A is an exploded perspective view of an alternative design showinga quick connect plug and an attachable clip.

FIG. 5B is a perspective of a clip assembled to a male connect plug;

FIG. 6 is a lateral sectional view of FIG. 3A showing an anti-rotationridge on the male plug and engagement surfaces of the female socket;

FIG. 7 is a side sectional partial view of FIG. 3A;

FIG. 8 is an elevated perspective view of a sprayer accessory rotatablyadjustable;

FIG. 9 is a side sectional view of a sprayer accessory threadablyattached to male quick connector plug;

FIG. 10 is an elevated perspective view of multiple sprayer accessoriesusable with same socket.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

It is to be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that thepresent discussion is a description of exemplary embodiments only, andis not intended as limiting the broader aspects of the presentinvention. The following exemplary embodiment is provided to furtherillustrate the invention and is not to be construed to unduly limit thescope of the invention.

Referring to FIGS. 2, 3A and 3B, the non-rotating quick connector 10comprises a male connector 31, a female connector 67, a tubular sleeve62, a compression spring 63, a lock ring 60, O-rings 61 and one or morelocking balls or pins 64.

Male connector 31 includes an internally or externally threaded portion57 forming an attachment end integrally connected to a male plug orcoupling portion or end 50 by means of a shoulder portion 54intermediate the length of the plug 31. Male plug 31 further includes afluid or air channel 97 which extends either partially or completelythrough the male connector 31, one or more selectively annular retainingball groove 55 about coupling portion 50, one or more ridges 52purposely positioned generally longitudinal along axis 20 extendingbetween forwardly angled ball retention incline surface 51, acrossannular surface 55 and interconnecting to backwardly angled inclinesurface 53, ridge 52 extending radially within groove 55 and annularsurface 50, a hexagonally or otherwise flattened sided shaped grippingsurface 56. A highly pressurized sprayer attachment accessory 30 isshown as an example, but may comprise other forms or configurations.There exist other configurations of male plug designs that incorporatesingle shut-off, double shut-off and straight-through configurationswhich all could apply to the present invention.

Female socket 67 comprises an externally or internally threaded portion73 forming an attachment end integrally connected to a female quickconnect portion or end 67 by means of a shoulder portion 58. Femaleconnector 67 further comprises a hexagonally or otherwise flattenedsided shaped gripping surface 72. Female connector 67 further includes awater of air channel 71 which extends partially or completely throughfemale socket 67, one or more tapered ball or pin recesses 65 throughfemale portion 66, and internal o-ring grooves (not shown) insideshoulder portion (not shown). There exist other configurations of femalesocket designs that incorporate single shut-off, double shut-off andstraight-through configurations which all could apply to the presentinvention.

Sleeve 62 includes an annular internal shoulder 15 having an annulartapered portion 70 and an annular flat portion 75, and an annulargripping surface 69. Lock ring 60 is secured in annular lock ring groove68 during assembly after sleeve 62 is slid over female coupling portion66 with balls or pins 64 in recesses 65. There exist otherconfigurations of quick connect sleeve assemblies of which thisinvention would apply.

Compression spring 63 biases sleeve 62 against lock ring 60 andcomprises a piece of wire wound around one or more turns at such aradius as to closely fit about female portion 66 of female socket 67.There exist other configurations of quick connect spring assemblies ofwhich this invention would apply.

Locking rings 60, O-rings 61 and retaining balls or pins 64 are ofstandard construction known in the fluid and air flow industries, as isthe construction of the ball or pin retaining recess 65 to retain ballsor pins 64 therein. There exist other configurations of quick connectlocking and O-ring assemblies of which this invention would apply.

Female socket 67, sleeve 62, compression spring 63, lock rings 60,O-rings 61 and retaining balls or pins 64 fit together as shown in FIG.3A and 3B. Spring 63 is disposed about female socket portion 66 offemale connector 67 with sleeve 62 disposed thereabout, retaining ballsor pins 64 being retained within respective retaining recesses 65 byinternal shoulder 15 of sleeve 62. Sleeve 62 is retained to femaleconnector 67 by means of lock rings 60 secured in annular lock ringgroove 68 about female portion 66 which abuts internal shoulder 15 ofsleeve 62 as sleeve 62 is biased by spring 63 to a forward, or lockingposition. When in locking position, retaining balls or pins 64 areretained in an inwardly biased position by contact with annular flatportion 75 of sleeve 62 so as to partially extend into the media channel71. When sleeve 62 is manually influenced against the bias of spring 63to a rearward position, balls or pin 64 are disposed adjacent annulartapered portion 51 or larger diameter annular portion 16 of sleeve 62,which permits balls or pins 64 to move radially outwardly so as to beremoved from inside media channel 71. O-rings 61 are disposed withinrespective O-ring grooves (not shown).

Male and female connectors 31 and 67 removably couple together byforcing sleeve 62 to the rearward position against the bias of spring 63such that retaining balls or pin 64 can clear the media channel 71 whenthe male coupling portion 50, which fits closely in media channel 71, ismoved into position in media channel 71. When male and female connectors31 and 67 are rotated relative to one another to the proper position orotherwise interconnected, anti-rotation ridge or ridges 52 fit intoregion 17 between retaining balls or pins 64. Male coupling portion 50is moved into the opening in female coupling portion 66 so that groove55 is aligned with ball or pin receiving recess 65 and balls or pins 64therein so that balls or pins 64 can extend into groove 55. Sleeve 62 isthen released so as to be biased back to the forward position by spring63 such that annular flat portion 75 thereof holds retaining balls orpins 64 in ball or pin retaining groove 55 of male connector 31. In sucha coupled condition, male and female connectors 31 and 67 are lockedtogether both longitudinally and rotationally with O-rings 61 sealingthere between. The procedure is reversed to uncouple male and femaleconnectors 31 and 27, without the possible need of rotating sinceanti-rotation ridges 52 already align to fit in region 17 in betweenballs or pins 64.

Another alternate embodiment of anti-rotation ridge 52 is illustrated inFIG. 4A and FIG. 4B where ridge 74 can be one or more radially extendingsurfaces within groove 54 and retained within forwardly biased inclinesurface 51 and rearwardly inclined surface 53. The ridges 74 may extendall the way across groove 54 and in line with coupler surface 50 orshoulder surface 54 or any number of shapes and sizes that would preventrotation of retention balls or pins 64 around annular surfaces 55 or 51,or rotation within groove 54.

Another alternate embodiment of anti-rotation ridge 52 is illustrated inFIG. 5A and FIG. 5B where ridge 77 is a separated component clip 18 andattachably held onto the male quick connector 31. Clip 18 would snapinto or within grooves 79 and 78 which could also be located in analternate location of male quick connector 31, for example withinshoulder portion 54. Groove 78 on the male quick connector plug wouldengage segment 76 of clip 18 to retain the clip 18 longitudinally andretain the clip from removal. Groove 79 would engage ridge segment 77 toprevent clip 18 against rotational movement. Ridge segment 77 wouldprotrude into groove region 55 and thus acting in a similar manner asridge 52 or 74. Anti-rotation clip 18 could be either rigidly connectedto male quick connector 31 or may incorporate compliant, non-rigidfeatures in order to be moveably connected to connector 31, but maintainthe intended purposes of anti-rotation. The ridges 77 may comprise oneor more locations along groove 55.

The method of forming an anti-rotation feature as shown in ridge 52, 74and 77 may vary in method and design. As an example, the feature couldalso be threadably attached to the male quick connect plug 31 and act asthe anti-rotation ridge itself or retain another such piece to act inthe same. The anti-rotation feature may be constructed via various meanswhich include standard machining methods, a separate piece fusablylinked as with welding or epoxy, use of electro-discharge machining(EDM), forging, casting, swaging, or other alternate technologies knownto manufacturing.

Another alternate embodiment of the anti-rotation ridge would be wherethe user would physically engage a button or other interface means inorder to bias the anti-rotation ridge into position or out of position.In this manner the user would choose when to use the anti-rotationfeature or to just allow the system to freely rotate. Examples of ridgeactuation would include pivoting or sliding the ridge into position viaan interlocking means back to the various interface means available.

Another alternate embodiment of the anti-rotation ridge would be wherethe anti-rotation feature would be configured not to fully preventrotation, but instead to provide resistance in the turning process, onlyto a desired force, and then allow the ridge to release and move pastthe locking ball. This would result in the ability to provide an audibleclicking sound while rotating, as the ridge engages each locking ball.Additionally, the operator would be provided with a resistance feedbackthat provides physical indication of how much the plug has rotated bycounting the number of points of higher resistance.

Another alternate embodiment of the anti-rotation ridge would be wherethe anti-rotation feature is configured in such a way as to act as a camsurface to the retention balls and thereby gradually influencing theballs radially outward and thus initiating a disconnection of the plugto the coupler. The operator would rotate the nozzle assembly or othermechanism and thereby disengage the coupler socket from the male plug.This is particularly relevant to auto-lock coupler configurations wherethe user pulls back the retaining collar, and the male plugautomatically ejects from the socket via a biasing spring mechanism.

A fluid accessory 31 is shown coupled to the socket 67 in FIG. 8.However, other fluid accessories, such as those illustrated in FIG. 10,may be used rather than the fluid accessory in FIG. 8, such as a fixedbrush 28, which may be coupled to the socket 67. The fluid accessory 29may output a rotating spray pattern, while the fluid accessory 27 may,for example, be configured to output a wide-angle spray pattern, anarrow-angle spray pattern, or any other type of fixed (non-adjustable)spray pattern.

In addition, the fluid accessory may be configured to output a differentpattern depending on the rotational position selected by the user(nozzle changeover). The adjustable nozzle assembly 30 may be adjustedby the user by axially rotating the housing. For example, the adjustablenozzle 30 housing may be axially rotated about a longitudinal axis 20between a first position, in which the fluid accessory 30 provides ahigh pressure spray, and a second position, in which the fluid accessory30 provides a low pressure spray. Further, the fluid accessory 30 of theillustrated construction includes an independently adjustable mechanism150 for altering the spray pattern (see FIGS. 8 and 9). The spraypattern may be adjusted by rotating the housing about a longitudinalaxis 20, such that at a first rotational orientation, the fluidaccessory 30 provides a wide-angle spray pattern, and at a secondrotational orientation, the fluid accessory 30 provides a narrow-anglespray pattern. Since the spray pattern is independently adjustable forthe nozzle assembly 151, several different combinations of the spraypatterns and discharge pressures exist. Nozzle 27 is fitted with astandard male plug 154 to illustrate the backward compatibility of thesystem. Wand 153 is shown in FIG. 10 to illustrate possible connectionconfiguration.

While illustrated embodiments show, what is known as, a straight-throughcoupling assembly, the invention would apply to, what is known in thefluid and air flow industry as, one-way shut-off systems as used incompressed air & paint spray applications to name a few. Additionally,the design would apply to, what is known as, double-shutoff systems ascommonly associated with use in hydraulics as well as other materialsuch as steam, solvents, cooling water, oil and a host of other media.

The invention also includes the process for connecting a quick connectcoupling by using any of the anti-rotation devices disclosed herein.

Whereas this invention is here illustrated and described with referenceto embodiments thereof presently contemplated as the best mode ofcarrying out such invention in actual practice, it is to be understoodthat various changes may be made in adapting the invention to differentembodiments without departing from the broader inventive conceptsdisclosed herein.

1.-30. (canceled)
 31. A non-rotating coupling system, comprising: (a) amale connector (31) having a coupling portion (50) with a channel (97)formed through said male connector (31) and an annular groove (55)formed in said coupling portion, said coupling portion (50) having aridge (52) formed in said annular groove (55); (b) a female connector(67) having a longitudinal axis (20), a fluid channel (71) extendingthrough said female connector (67), and plural recesses (65) formed insaid female connector; (c) a dispensing accessory (30); (d) a sleeve(62) carried by said female connector (67); (e) a spring (63) insertedin said sleeve (62), said spring (63) biasing said sleeve (62) over saidplural recesses (65) of said female connector (67); (f) an O-ring (61)located between said male connector (31) and said female connector (67);(g) plural balls (64) positioned within said plural recesses (65) ofsaid female connector (67) and said annular groove (55) of said maleconnector (31), each ball (64) of said plural balls (64) being carriedin one recess (65) of said plural recesses (65), said female connector(67) maintaining said plural balls (64) within said plural recesses(65), said female connector (67) maintaining said plural balls (64)within said plural recesses (65), said ridge (52) being positionedbetween two balls (64) of said plural balls (64) to prevent rotation ofsaid male connector (31) while said dispensing accessory (30) isrotatable about said longitudinal axis (20).
 32. The non-rotatingcoupling system as recited in claim 31, wherein said ridge (52) isintegral with said male connector (31).
 33. The non-rotating couplingsystem as recited in claim 31, wherein said ridge (52) extends acrosssaid groove (55).
 34. The non-rotating coupling system as recited inclaim 31, wherein said ridge (52) is removable.
 35. The non-rotatingcoupling system as recited in claim 31, wherein said dispensingaccessory (30) is a gas dispensing accessory.
 36. The non-rotatingcoupling system as recited in claim 31, wherein said dispensingaccessory (30) is a fluid dispensing accessory.
 37. The non-rotatingcoupling system as recited in claim 31, wherein said dispensingaccessory (30) is a sprayer.
 38. The non-rotating coupling system asrecited in claim 31, wherein said dispensing accessory (30) is asprinkler head.
 39. The non-rotating coupling system as recited in claim31, wherein said dispensing accessory (30) is manually rotatable by auser.
 40. The non-rotating coupling system as recited in claim 31,wherein said dispensing accessory (30) is rotatable by impact heads. 41.The non-rotating coupling system as recited in claim 31, wherein saiddispensing accessory has a rotating spray pattern.